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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

January/February Wrap-Up!

Hey guys, today's post is going to be my January/February wrap-up! I don't try out enough products in a single month to warrant a favorites post every month, so I'll probably be doing these on a bimonthly or trimonthly basis. I'm also going to call these posts 'wrap-ups' instead of 'favorites' because there may be a post where I don't like anything that I've tried or I don't have any products at all! These posts are more of just a summary of my month; products I've tried, movies I've watched, things I've done, etc. I don't want to restrict myself to just favorites, y'know? (Also, everyone does favorites posts. I'm an original so I need to do something different) ((Gosh I hope the sarcasm there was evident))

Alright, with all of that out of the way, let's get into the wrap-up!

I'm going to start with the makeup products I've been loving lately. January is usually a good month for me cosmetics-wise because I have a little extra money from Christmas and can actually buy products.

The first product is a lipstick. No surprise there. I have worn the Maybelline Color Sensational Vivid Lipstick in "Brazen Berry" at least once a week since I received it for Christmas. I love purple lipsticks but I can't wear Nars Train Bleu everyday (sadly). This lipstick is a great purple for everyday wear. The formula is amazing, like all the Vivid lipsticks. This lipstick feels smooth and light on the lips and is pretty hydrating. It has a nice sheen and lasts a good 2-3 hours before reapplication is necessary. However, it wears off nicely so it doesn't look bad if you don't reapply. It really is the perfect everyday lipstick. This is a relatively low maintenance product with a color that packs a decent punch which is everything I could want from a lipstick. I also think it's a year-round color and I'm excited to transition it into spring!

(Here's a swatch of the lipstick! Man, my camera is not nice to my ridiculously pale skin..you can't see that many veins in person, I swear!)

The next product is actually two products used in conjunction. I picked up the e.l.f. Eyebrow Kit in 'Medium' this past month and it is the perfect shadow for filling in my brows. On a normal day I fill in my brows with the shadow and then set them with my Anastasia Brow Gel (which I recently did a review on!!!). The shadow matches my hair and the brow gel perfectly. With these two products I can achieve dark, full brows in minutes! I've yet to try the wax in the kit but the shadow is enough for me. I really love the way my brows look right now thanks to these two products!

(This looks really messy, but it's just a side effect of the way I pick up the shadow on my brush. The extra powder that is kicked up doesn't leak out of the packaging or anything-although it does end up in the wax.)

I sort of spoiled this next product earlier, but it's the Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil in 'Train Bleu'! I still can't believe I own this product, honestly. I have lusted over this for months thanks to Rachel Whitehurst on Youtube (she's my lip-spiration tbh). Luckily I have the bestest friends in the world and I received this for Christmas. This is just a really beautiful, dark purple color. It definitely has a velvety feel on the lips, as the name suggests, and it is very matte. I feel like a wonderful goth babe whenever I wear this. My only complaint is that reapplication is a bit tricky. It begins to fade in the middle of my lips at about midday, but when I reapply it starts to accentuate the dry spots on my lips. It is a bit drying, so even if I moisturize my lips beforehand this problem is unavoidable. It isn't a huge problem, though, and I can suck it up for this gorgeous color. I've been trying to wear it as often as possible because I'll probably pack it away once spring rolls around, but it will definitely stay a favorite for a long time.

(Swatch of Train Bleu on the right.)

The next product is the Mary Kay Cream Eye Color in "Iced Cocoa." I had never tried Mary Kay products until recently, because my mom keeps getting free products in the mail! Definitely look out on the internet for Mary Kay freebies, because they are apparently abundant. This cream eyeshadow is a pretty standard bronze-y medium brown color and is a really nice wash of color on the lid. This has crazy staying power and doesn't crease on my lids for at least 8 hours, even without a primer underneath. I can wear this alone or with shadow on top and it always looks great. It's similar to the Maybelline Color Tattoo in 'Bad to the Bronze' but it is less metallic and looks better alone on the lid. It retails for $14 which isn't too tough on the wallet for the quality!

(Here's a swatch of the cream eyeshadow!)

Next I have a product that I don't care for very much. I ran out of my holy grail mascara this month (Maybelline Rocket Volum') so I decided to try the new Maybelline Falsies Big Eyes mascara. I was drawn to this mascara because I couldn't use the Rocket Volum' on my bottom lashes as it tended to leave marks under my eyes, and this mascara had a built in wand for bottom lashes! I really do like the bottom lash side of this mascara. It lengthens and darkens my lashes perfectly, and the wand makes it easy to get right up in there. However, the top lashes side is pretty mediocre. It doesn't hold a curl that well and it gets weirdly clumpy at the end of my lashes. There isn't any spectacular volume or length, and I definitely don't look like I'm wearing false lashes. It isn't the worst mascara I've used, but it's not the best. I'm most likely going to go back to my beloved Rocket Volum' when I finish up this tube.

That's all I have for products this time, but I do have some random favorites I'd like to share. (-:

I'm going to get all of my nerdiness out of the way first with video games. I've deemed 2014 the year of video games for me, because watching Roosterteeth videos on Youtube has rekindled my love of them. There was recently a DLC for the game The Last of Us, and it was amazing. Sadly I don't own a playstation, so I had to watch someone play it on Youtube, but nonetheless it was amazing. The Last Of Us is, in my opinion, the best game that came out in 2013, and this DLC was just as wonderful.

Also, Left 4 Dead 2 was free on Steam on Christmas and since I downloaded it, I've played 18 hours. I finally finished all of the campaigns and I'm pretty sad about it. That game may have come out 4 years ago but it is still amazing. I highly suggest it to anyone, even if you don't consider yourself a gamer. It can be played very casually or more seriously. It's just really awesome.

Okay I'm sure most of you don't give two hoots about video games so I'm going to move on now! In February I saw the Arctic Monkeys, which was pretty freaking cool. I love that band a whole lot and it was an amazing night! That was definitely a highlight of the month.

(This is a terrible iPhone quality picture, but that's Alex Turner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
I've also been getting into a lot of new music these past two months. Some of my new favorites are Mac Demarco, The Orwells (who opened for the Arctic Monkeys), Fidlar, Wavves and Together Pangea. I'm really digging the beach goth summer vibes right now for some reason.
I haven't really read any good books lately, but I did start watching the show Twin Peaks! It came out like 25 years ago, but it is surprisingly very good. Weird, but good. It's very dramatic and intense, but there is lots of comedic moments as well. Everyone on tumblr was talking about it so I had to check it out. If you like weird stuff, you'll probably like Twin Peaks.

Alright, well I think that's all for this wrap-up! I hope to make these on a monthly basis soon, but that probably won't happen until this summer. I'll be trying to upload more reviews and tutorials/looks and stuff soon, so check back for that!